Drew Brees offers another apology after repeating his objection to NFL players kneeling in protest

Drew Brees has made another apology amid reactions from fans and teammates over his disapproval of NFL players kneeling in protest during the national anthem, this time posting a self-recorded video on Instagram to convey his sincerity about the matter. bring.

“I know I can’t say much that would make things better at the moment,” the New Orleans Saints star said on Instagram. “But I just want you to see in my eyes how sorry I am for the comments I made yesterday.

“I know it hurt a lot of people, especially friends, teammates, former teammates, lovers, people I care about and respect,” he continued. “I never meant to.”

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Drew Brees posted a video to Instagram to apologize again for his comments about protests

Saint Orleans players kneel before the national anthem before a game against the New York Jets in New Orleans on December 17, 2017. During the national anthem, several NFL players kneel to protest inequality and police brutality against minorities since – San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began with this in 2016. The protests were considered controversial and many still protest during the national anthem. But after the murder of George Floyd and the death of other African-Americans at the hands of the police, American athletes do their bit to promote justice and equality.

After the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, Brees repeated his resistance to kneeling during the national anthem in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.

And the caustic reaction that followed prompted the Saints strategist to apologize on Thursday, first writing that he “ missed the target ” and then promised to “ do better ” in his homemade video.

When Brees expressed his stance on the national anthem three years ago, he was one of many voices in a busy conversation about Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players raising awareness of racist police brutality by refusing to stand up for the Star -Spangled Banner.

But as he repeated it Wednesday, pointing out his World War II grandfathers to explain his objection, the Saints quarterback humbly discovered how times have changed.

Brees ‘comments were quashed by LeBron James and several other famous athletes, not to mention members of the New Orleans Saints – notably record-breaking broad receiver Michael Thomas, Brees’ favorite target, and veteran safety Malcolm Thomas, who told Brees to ‘f *** up’ in his own video on social media.

Thomas, linebacker Demario Davis and a few other Saints players have since accepted Brees’s apology.

“One of my brothers made a public statement yesterday that I disagreed with,” Thomas wrote on Twitter. “He apologized and I accept it because we learned that as Christians. Now back to the movement! #GeorgeFloyd. ‘

In the apology video, Brees also referred to the recent murder of Ahmad Arbery, the black man who was shot and killed by a former cop and his son while jogging in Georgia.

Brees did not run away from criticism in his apology on Instagram: ‘In an effort to talk about respect, unity and solidarity around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues where we are now as a country. They lacked consciousness and any kind of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful, and have led people to believe that I am somehow an enemy. This cannot be further from the truth and is not an accurate representation of my heart or my character ‘

“I wish I had set out what inspired me about the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, the years and years of social injustice, police brutality, and the need for so much reform and change regarding legislation and so many other things about equality to our black communities, ‘said Brees.

“I’m sorry and I will do better and I will be part of the solution and I am your ally.”

Last year, he drew attention to including a public service announcement promoting Bring Your Bible to School Day for the Focus on the Family group, which has actively campaigned against gay rights. Brees said he never intended to associate with anti-gay messages and took on someone who accused him of doing so. He also supported his message in the video.

While NFL players’ protests subsided in 2019, three years after Kaepernick began peaceful demonstrations as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, many expect to kneel more after the murders of Floyd and Arbery.

In 2017, many teams opted for hymn compromises that didn’t require kneeling even though they attempted to continue the protest of former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick against the same social issues now surrounding Floyd’s murder. Many teams chose to stand with their arms closed, reminiscent of civil rights protests. The saints, including Brees, chose to kneel moments before the national anthem and then stand as it began.

At least one person burned a Drew Brees shirt in response to his statement to Yahoo

Despite participating in that demonstration in 2017, Brees maintained his objection to players who knelt during the national anthem for finding it “ disrespectful ” to the military, he told Yahoo Finance.

Despite his alleged missteps, Brees was one of the most respected players in the NFL for reasons other than his record-breaking game on the field.

He has built a reputation as a devout family man. He has spent countless hours and approximately $ 35 million in charitable contributions along the Gulf Coast since joining the Saints 2006 when he became a leading advocate for New Orleans recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

Brees pictured alongside Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Kaepernick has been out of the NFL since March 2017, which led to allegations that NFL owners were plotting to black him out of the league in retaliation for the controversial protests

ORIGINAL COMMENTS FROM BREES TO YAHOO! FINANCING ON PROTESTS

“I will never agree with anyone who doesn’t respect the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I imagine my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II, one in the military and one in the navy corps. Both risk their lives to protect our country and try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I look at that flag with my hand over my heart and sing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. And in many cases that brings me to tears, thinking about everything that’s been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but by the way, those of the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and everything that has been witnessed by so many people so far. And is everything correct with our country now? No, that’s not it. We have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, that we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution. ‘

“It takes someone with character to acknowledge that they are wrong and they messed it up in a way,” said Chris Manhertz, a former Brees teammate in New Orleans, tight in the shoes of Carolina Panthers. “Everyone has their own perspective and I can’t take that away from him, but it’s just a matter of acknowledging what’s going on and being empathetic. Such things go a long way when it comes to understanding things you may not have been exposed to or experienced. ‘

That doesn’t mean Brees still has no more work to do to support his empathic shift in tone.

“It doesn’t just say we want to change,” Davis said on CBS Sports Radio. “It is the actions that will enable us to change.”